Small and big disasters

Nature takes over in this wild Chilean Carretera. And what was to happen to the Italian Davide happens ...

Chile is incredibly beautiful. Definitely one of the most beautiful places I have visited. And the camping here should be perfect. The southern Carretera region is also practically deserted by humans. It also has countless rivers, on the banks of which to pitch your tent is the holy grail of wild camping. But there are also often hundreds of horseflies almost as big as birds which "hang around" loudly around our heads. And even more than buzzing, “Females normally feed on the blood of large mammals which they bite with their stylets. " (according to Wikipedia)

Davide, Jonathan and Freddy, on a dinner break.

However, the major drawback to the campsite is the endless barbed wire fences that have been installed by the huge landowners along the entire length of this long path. Half to hold the cattle, half to demarcate their properties. Chile may have voted for a communist government in 1970, the Pinochet years and the arrival of Europeans in the south of the country have decidedly erased this ideology.

All this to say that in this camping paradise, my companions Freddy, Davide and I often have to hide or pass fences to pitch our tents. Almost a first for my cycling adventures, we are even told a few times that we have to change location. After some negotiations, however, we only had to move our camp in the evening once ...

The now asphalt road is pleasant through the forest and from one river to another.

Another evening between river and mountains. We do not see the horseflies in this photo!

The disaster of Villa Santa Lucia

These little problems are, however, very small compared to what the people of Villa Santa Lucia experienced just a year ago. Next to a huge landslide, more than twenty people lost their lives, out of a total population of barely 140 inhabitants.

As of mid-December 2017, the region received over 122mm of rain in just 24 hours. The ground has become waterlogged to the point of becoming unstable. And at the top of the cliff overlooking the valley was a glacier, part of which broke off and began to slide down the valley. Taking with it rocks and trees, the immense piece of ice hurtled down towards the village at a speed of 72 km / h. A few dozen houses and public buildings were destroyed by the flood and the fires that followed. Twenty-two people lost their lives in this tiny village that has struggled to recover since. (More information at this link, in Spanish).

What remains of the hamlet of Villa Santa Lucia, half destroyed by a flood in December 2017.

Davide and Freddy driving on the “new” road still under reconstruction.

Near Villa Santa Lucia, piles of debris always replace the forest.

The eruption of the Chaitén volcano

75 km north of Villa Santa Lucia is then the small town of Chaiten. Here too the region suffered the wrath of nature not so long ago. In 2008, the eponymous volcano, believed to have been dormant for thousands of years, woke up. Its ashes rose to an altitude of about thirty kilometers, and were carried by easterly winds to force the closure of the Buenos Aires airport, more than 1000 km away.

Then huge mudslides razed a large part of the village. This mud and the ashes which fell to the ground even caused the neighboring river to deviate. This stream, which used to pass south of the small town of 4000 inhabitants, now cuts it in two. In fact, he would cut it off if the houses on one of its banks had not been destroyed.

Nevertheless, the volcano having given signs of his awakening for a few days, all the surroundings had been evacuated beforehand. Only one person died during the evacuation. Chaitén now has a little less inhabitants than at the time, not all of them having come back to rebuild their houses. But tourism is growing and the city and morale continues to grow.

Cut "in the wrong way"

Davide with his fingers in bandages, a few days after the incident.

A few kilometers north of this volcanic village of Chaíten, Davide, Freddy and I camped that evening on Santa Barbara beach. I already told you how daredevil my italian friend was and a bit in the moon.

The accident that was to happen therefore only happened a few moments after our arrival. Davide is cutting his lawyer looking at the sea when his knife goes straight and cuts his finger. Blood spurts out. He looks at Freddy who is then right next to him.

"I just cut myself ..." said a livid Davide. "And not in a good way ..."

Freddy has a big first aid kit in his saddlebags and takes charge of the situation. Fortunately, a family is on the beach and offers to bring the Italian to the hospital in Chaitén. Davide therefore leaves quickly with Freddy. I stay at the beach with our bikes and all our gear.

Davide luckily manages to see a doctor quickly, who stitches him a few times. He then puts a new bandage on her and advises her to go see another doctor in the next town that we pass, to ensure recovery. The two Europeans are back on the beach before dark and in time for supper.

Davide the warrior does not even hesitate to hit the road the next morning. His hand wrapped in white strips, we thus embark once again on a stretch of a few tens of kilometers of gravel.

Santa Barbara beach, a little north of Chaitén.

Jonathan and Davide take advantage of a beautiful deserted road before the start of the gravel.

Freddy pushes on the gravel.

The mussel paradise

Our trio decided the next day to take a detour along a coastal path and leave La Carretera for two days. The mountains and the forest suddenly give way to the salty sea air. Mini villages are clinging to the coast, reminding me of the landscapes of the North Shore of Quebec. The churches are numerous and each painted in a bright color. Yellow, red, bright blue. At anchor or mounted on the beaches, you can see a lot of fishing boats. We even pass a few small shipyards where a few workers are leaning over the frames of new wooden boats.

In the evening, we wash as usual in a river. The water is less cold than normal. She must not descend from glaciers. Then we set up our camp on the edge of a large pebble beach. We quickly see that it is covered with mussels. There must be thousands of them! Each rock turned over reveals ten to fifteen mollusks. We come back with a few full bags in just ten minutes.

None of the three of us has ever made mussels in their life, or knows how. And out of civilization, without an internet connection, we manage for our feast to come. My two European friends suppose that since I speak French, I am the specialist in this seafood. I therefore clean them and, in a chain job, the mussels pile up quickly in boiling water. Meanwhile, Freddy prepares rice and vegetables to complete the meal.

The result is incredibly excellent. We must eat a few dozen each. It's hard to find fresher than that. Nevertheless, between two bites, I express the wish that no one will be sick ...

The small churches are numerous and colorful along the coastal path.

In full preparation of the mussels!

I will learn later that mussels that did not open on their own in boiling water should not be forced out with a knife… as I suggested. Davide and I, however, slept full and without digestive problems all night. It was a whole different story for Freddy! He had to get up 4 times to be sick in the dark night. He was going in a different direction each time for an obvious reason! And in the nocturnal silence, he listened to us sleeping, wondering why he was the only sick person!

Maybe we were spared because Davide had already had his quota of bad luck… and I speak French ?!

The end

The next day, we finally completed the route of this long southern Carretera with a weakened Freddy. The arrival in the city of Puerto Montt signaled not only a change in geography but also the departure of our friend Davide. After a few days of rest with us, the Italian gave us a last hug before taking a bus to Santiago, further north. From the capital, he will take a flight back to Spain and a few more weeks of cycling to Italy.

Goodbye Davide. Goodbye Carretera. We will see each other again, that's for sure.

Davide the wounded, Freddy before he got sick, and Jonathan… the slow invincible ?!